When should kids move out from home? Start this up as a conversation at your next get-together and you’ll get wildly different opinions. Some believe parents should always provide a safe refuge, whilst other are strongly of the opinion that kids should be encouraged to move out by a certain age in order to establish their independence. This age will likely vary from 18 through to 30. If it’s accepted that they can stay home till 30, it’s unlikely that these parents would ever feel there is a compelling case to tip them out. There are exceptions of course that tend to reach the level of newsworthy.
There are no rights and wrongs of course. For my part, once our last child at home was finished University and employed full-time, we advised him that we were moving in 12 months and he wasn’t coming with us. My sister was aghast. The concept of tipping the chick out of the nest to encourage it to fly didn’t sit well with her.
Parents have different options to help their children establish themselves. This can depend on their financial circumstances. From the bank of Mum & Dad through to “I can’t help you with any money but there will always be a bed for you at home”. Even when financially well off, parents will disagree on what is a healthy level of assistance. This can take the form of assisting with a deposit, buying them a property outright or simply stumping up a bond for their first rental. Decisions on assistance aren’t always based on financial restrictions but on what is best for the kids in the long term.
Another means of assistance is detailed in this article, where parents buy two adjoining properties and create an independent space for the kids, whilst still owning both properties. So, lots of options and lots of opinions on what we actually should do, presuming we have the capacity. In this age of entitlement, let’s hope the kids are grateful no matter what is provided.